The internet gets a lot of publicity for bringing the world closer together. All the different cultures must get along and we can learn so much about each other online. Anyone who's poked their head out of the door recently knows that the internet did not start this phenomenon. Cultures have been blending and mixing for years. It's amazing what happens when everyone gets together.

In cities and countries all over the world, there are hot spots of cultural activity. For many years, when a family would move from one country to another, they would do what they could to blend into the new country and in many cases left their own culture and heritage behind. Now, however, people are really beginning to celebrate differences and most cultural taboos no longer exist.

Holidays

While it would be impossible to celebrate every holiday from every country all over the world, many companies and schools are doing what they can to be respectful of these holidays. In some cases we've ended up with quite a few decent holidays we now take for granted, thanks to different cultures coming together. Halloween wasn't really celebrated all over the United States until the Irish brought it over from the UK during the 1800s. It won't be long until we're seeing all kinds of fun holiday traditions from all over the globe enjoyed by everyone just as easily as St. Patrick's Day and Valentine's Day.

Food and Customs

A lot of what we eat today is a big mix of cultures and styles. Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Indian and other styles of food are hugely popular, and it's amazing the variations on these foods as you visit different towns or restaurants.

Other customs and games like piñatas and fortune cookies have roots elsewhere. Even certain breeds of dogs and cats are from other countries and have been accepted by the world over time. Time has shown that we've learned a lot from each other. Even chocolate and corn were introduced to Europe from the Americas.

Language

Our vocabularies are speckled with words not only from other languages, but from other cultures as well. Folks in England, Australia and the US all speak English, but you wouldn't always know it just from listening. The origins of certain words are interesting and some may even surprise you. Do you even know what culture your name is traditionally from? Things have gotten so blended, even things like first and last names no longer tell where a person is really from.

Respect

While it is certainly a goal that we all treat every person and every culture equally, many places all over the world still have a bit of work to do. So with everything becoming more blended and open every day, is it making everyone more accepting and tolerant of differences? Is anyone afraid to walk down the street in fear because of their religion or heritage? With all the new fashion items, foods, words, styles of art and even tattoos, it's really only a matter of time before the earth is truly populated by one culture – humans.